My favorite monster in the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual? Anyone who knows me knows it's the Mind Flayer. People had evily told me that Square was calling it the Piscodaemon and I was so mad, but then I figured out it was all stories and I felt much happier, giddy... almost...

Anyway, I love Mind Flayers with all my heart and soul. The evil they spread and the desire for death that they possess is matched by only the most evil of creatures. They make such awesome bad guys. As I played around with this, I found myself melding the actual Mind Flayer (Charm, Brain Absorbtion) with the FFXII Mind Flayer. So the battle may be slightly different from when you fought it. The story is not especially angsty, but a little like... what's the word... suspenseful! I probably will continue this Mark Hunting story with more Marks as I fall in love with them one at a time. If you have one you'd like to see, I may be able to put it up, especially if it's one I enjoyed as well.

Thanks again for reading all of this. Hopefully you'll learn to love Mind Flayers as much as I do from this!

So, without further ado:

READ ON!

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Mark Hunting:
The Mind Flayer

The Henna Mines were dark, damp, and dreary. It was the third time that Princess Ashe and her entourage entered the mine, and needless to say, they were getting quite tired of it. "Just how strong is this 'Mind Flayer' anyway?" Penelo asked, shouldering her Gaia staff as they wandered deeper into the winding caverns, "It… it's a mage, right?"

"An Amorph, to be precise," Balthier replied. Being a traveling Sky Pirate, he was the next best person to refer to for obscure knowledge now that the knowledgeable Larsa was trapped within Archadia's palace walls, "Evolved due to Mist, it is a highly intelligent monster, which makes casting magic extremely easy."

"We aren't finding it like this," Vaan interrupted, looking very impatient, "There are too many winding tunnels! Why don't we just split up?"

"I'm against that," Ashe interjected rather quickly, her voice tinged with annoyance; "This is a Mark, Vaan, and a pretty powerful one, as well. We don't want to be separated from the rest of the group if it has a powerful Doom spell or something of the sort. Right Basch?" She stopped when the Dalmascan Royal Guard didn't reply, and turned around to look down the tunnel they came from, "Basch?"

"It would appear he lost us after he cast 'Protect' on himself," Fran said, leaning on one of her legs and placing her hand on her hip.

Balthier slammed his palm on his forehead. Damned Gambits… "Well then, shall we backtrack to find him?"

"What if he's already been caught?" Penelo cried, eyes darting back and forth, "If the Mind Flayer lives up to his name, Basch's mind may already be flayed by now!"

"I don't think the Flayers actually flay people's brains, Penelo," Vaan corrected, trying to act sagely (and failing). The two then began to bicker like a married couple about whether or not the Mind Flayer's weapon of choice was a whisk used to liquidate Humeoid brains, and Ashe rubbed her temples, trying not to get angry from worrying too much about the guardsman.

The group was suddenly silent as Balthier held his hand up to silence the bickering, "Shhhhhh! Do you hear that…?" Everyone shut up to listen closely at the clomping that was approaching them, "It's not a Nightmare's hooves…" The Sky Pirate murmured.

"And Redmaws do not walk upon the ground," Fran replied.

"Could it be Basch?" Ashe asked with an air of hope.

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't be so quick to lower my guard," Balthier replied, dragging out Betelgeuse, cocking it with a glare at the sound, "Prepare for battle!"

Vaan already had his Ice Brand out and Fran pulled a lightning arrow from her quiver as the sound got louder. Penelo shivered a bit, clutching the rod as Ashe hoped for the best, dragging the Flamberge from its sheath. The group waited with baited breath as a figure appeared in the darkened tunnel, and Vaan let out an unconscious sigh when they noticed that indeed it WAS Basch, alive and seemingly unharmed.

"Basch!" Ashe proclaimed, sheathing her sword as Balthier stared at the knight, shifting his weight nonchalantly from one leg to the other. Penelo smiled and practically dropped her rod so she could rush to the man's side, placing her hands behind her back and stared up at the bearded man, "Don't scare us like that, okay?" The young woman asked.

Basch looked down at the woman, and Balthier blinked. It took only a second to react as the royal knight suddenly drew his sword, but the Sky Pirate had so many scrapes like the predicament before him that he only had to react like he usually would. He was glad they hadn't bought that Masamune for the knight back at the Phon Coast's Mark Hunter Village, or the katana that the knight had brought down might have sliced through his gun, "Penelo! Get away from him!" Balthier shouted, trying to hold the man's attack with his own weapon, "He's not in his right mind!"

Penelo nodded swiftly and rushed back by Vaan, who drew his weapon again as Fran nocked an arrow in her bow, "Fran! Disable him!" The Viera gave a small snort of acknowledgement, and aimed well at Basch's shoulder, hoping to incapacitate him enough to disallow his two handed weapon… It was then that all hell broke loose.

There was a scream that entered Balthier's mind. It was like his head was being slammed over and over by a heavy blunt hammer, making him cry out unconsciously. He released his hold on his gun and slumped to the ground as Basch straightened up and turned to the rest of the group. By the screams and roars of his fellow adventurers, they were getting the same mental treatment, and it Stopped them all from even moving, must less acting.

"D… D… Dammit…" Balthier hissed as Basch practically stepped over him, his heavy boots clinking upon the mine floor, "My head… I can't…"

Then the voice came. It was a horrible, monstrous, gut wrenching voice that was uttered by that spawn of the underworld as it slowly came into the room right behind the royal knight. It was a strange, squat creature, with enough mind power to keep it aloft two inches from the ground indefinitely. The robe it wore covered its hands, but strange, tentacle-esque feet dropped from the clothing it wore, and the head, oh the head. It was as if it was a squid with only four tentacles. Or was it five? Balthier couldn't tell, his eyes were crossing in a vain attempt to ease the pain in his head. Yet there it was, two inches in front of him: the Mind Flayer, the Mark they were supposed to kill. Already, however, it had eased its way into Basch's mind and was attempting to do away with the resistance in theirs. Yet Balthier would be damned if he let the creature whose tongue only demons could understand take control of his mind when the others were in danger!

"You… You…" Balthier hissed, reaching out to grab at the monster's strange leg. He missed every time, "Come down here an'… an'… fight!"

"Get out!" Fran suddenly screeched, leaping up and clawing at her scalp in an attempt to remove the influence on her brain, "Get out of my HEAD!" The Mind Flayer moved his head only slightly, whispering mutterings that would make normal men go insane just listening to, and it abandoned Basch's protection to fight the Viera's naturally strong will. The Hume was easy to control, as well as the Bangaa and definitely the Seeq, but the Viera was the toughest of all to reach deep into the brain and manage it against their will.

The Flayer actually seemed worried for a moment as she broke free of her restraints and leapt at the squid-man. Being a brawler, she could easily do more damage barehanded than with her long range bow. He seemed to have been casting, and suddenly released a huge helping of Bio on the Viera. Fran dropped to the floor, writhing from the spell as the harmful bacteria in her body multiplied impossibly fast, giving the Viera diseases that would have normally been resisted by her immune system.

Balthier hissed at the treatment of his partner, and as Basch slammed his katana down on Ashe's Diamond Shield repeatedly, the Sky Pirate dragged himself upward, cocking his gun and pointing it at the enemy, "You… little…" He was able to gurgle, trying to ignore the screaming in his mind.

The Mind Flayer gave the Captain a look, as if to say, "You're kidding, right?" and slowly floated towards the gun toting enemy. Balthier fired straight into the Mind Flayer's head, which stopped it for only a moment, and made Basch reel backwards with a gasp.

Recovering from the attack, the Mark released a spell, Invert, which increased Balthier's spirit but dropped his stamina. The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he gave a groan, dropping to the floor. The monster caught him before he slumped over, holding the Sky Pirate up under his armpits. Penelo tried to stand as Vaan finally was able to help Ashe keep the charmed Basch at bay. She then pulled up her rod, trying to cast as Balthier stared defiantly at the Mark as the Mind Flayer dragged the Captain around wherever he pleased, its tentacles writhing in anticipation. It seemed extremely happy.

"Balthier!" Penelo cried as she continued to cast, "I… I'll try and… and…" The group gaped as the Sky Pirate screamed out loud; the Mind Flayer's tentacles sucking deeply on the man's scalp. The sickening slurping sound made Penelo grab at her mouth to keep from throwing up, and Fran gave a moan of sadness as her partner's brain was slowly absorbed directly into the amorph's being. Balthier's heart immediately stopped, and the Mind Flayer dropped the Sky Pirate to the floor with a laugh that sounded like a squelching noise. The man didn't even twitch; his central nervous system eaten along with the rest of his brain.

"Holy sh…" Vaan whispered once he finally regained the ability to use his tongue to form words.

"Fran!" Ashe screamed as she tried to keep the royal knight from slicing her in two, "Disable him, PLEASE!"

If there was any time the group needed a critical hit, it was now. With Fran feeling especially pissed from losing the "Invincible" Leading Man, it was no surprise that her strike hit true and hit hard. Her arrow slammed into Basch's arm with such force that he was flung backwards, pinning him into the wall with a bestial roar. The Mind Flayer turned to the knight as he ineffectually attempted to wrench the lightning arrow from his shoulder, and then to Vaan and Ashe as they held their swords aloft, knowing that now it was payback time…

The Mind Flayer tried to stop them from attacking him with his mind scream, but Penelo's Shell kept it at bay. Fran immediately cast "Poisona" on herself and prepared to fire, "Penelo," The Viera said quickly, "Take Balthier." The young mage looked at her friend and Fran's ears twitched due to annoyance, "He needs to be raised! Take the corpse and raise him!"

"You can DO that?" Penelo asked, flabbergasted that one can revive someone without a brain. Deciding not to press further and just take Fran's words to heart, the young woman rushed towards the deceased Sky Pirate, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him away from the battle.

"Ugaaahh!" Ashe cried as she fell victim to the Invert spell, dropping to the floor with hardly any stamina to keep upright. Fran immediately abandoned attacking with her bow and began to cast Curaga. If she didn't, the princess may have fallen victim to the Mind Flayer the same way Balthier had.

"Raise!" Penelo cried, placing her rod on the man's forehead, "RAISE!" The trumpet sounded and immediately the Sky Pirate gave a gasp, his eyes popping back to normal, sucking in deep gulps of air. Penelo gave a happy cry and had to keep from hugging the man with happiness.

"Oh… my head feels like a ton of bricks where dumped on me…" The Sky Pirate muttered. He then looked up and saw Penelo's upside-down face, "And who might you be, little one?"

Penelo gave Balthier a half smile and laughed out loud, "Hah! What a joke, Balthier! It's me, Penelo!"

"…" The Captain smiled at the woman's giggling and cocked his head, staring at her questioningly, "So that's my name then? Balthier?"

"FRAN!" Penelo instantly changed her tune and looked up with fear towards the smiling man's partner, "He's gotten amnesia! What do I do?"

"Ugg!" Fran grunted as she fired another shot and knocked another arrow in her bowstring, then proceeded to answer the question, "His memory is lost from the mind flaying. Curaga should fix it!"

The mage nodded without asking how it would work, and began to cast the desired spell, "Got it!"

A screech emitted from the Mind Flayer as Vaan stabbed the Ice Brand into the Mark's shoulder, and Basch's eyes blinked repeatedly. He shook his head to snap himself out of his charmed stupor.

"Oh dear gods…" He murmured, his head swerving to look at Ashe, his eyes wide with fear, "My Lady! I didn't… did I hurt you?"

"No… you… didn't…" Ashe said as she dropped backwards. Both she and Vaan were victims of a recent Thundara, and she was trying to regain her composure, "But I'd ask that you help if you can…"

Basch immediately began to cast Cura, despite being pinned to the wall. He would do whatever he could to protect his princess. After that he began casting Protect, and then whatever other buffs he could. Ashe was especially grateful for the man, especially since he was still working with an arrow lodged in his shoulder.

Balthier stood up, rubbing his head as he started remember his entire life story, "Once again, Penelo, I owe you my life. A Leading Man should be protecting you, though. Please forgive me; you have to keep watching me, don't you?"

Penelo dug her foot into the ground, blushing a bit as Balthier continued to sing praises to her. He did it to all the women, but she just couldn't help but feel the blood rush to her cheeks, after all. "Hey!" Basch said, motioning towards the arrow in his shoulder, "When you've got the time?" The Sky Pirate looked up and nodded a bit, then raised his finger to Penelo as if to say "Wait a moment". He was then by the Dalmascan Royal Knight's side and he grabbed the electric arrow, using all his strength to snap it in two so the knight could drag himself from the wall.

Basch only gave Balthier a snort of acknowledgement at the Sky Pirate saved him. He had much pressing matters at hand. The Mind Flayer had recently healed himself completely with sheer willpower and began a powerful waltz that caused Bravery and Faith within the Mark. It then rushed back into battle, Inverting people like there was no tomorrow.

Fran dropped to the floor because the Mark immediately cast Thundara after Inverting her, and the Viera was unconscious from the damage dealt to her. Penelo was by her side as the others whaled on the enemy.

"Dammit, how did its defense increase this much…?" Bathier hissed as he threw another Bio at the enemy and began casting Bubble as per his Gambit's orders, "Vaan! New plan!"

"What's up?" The orphan asked.

"1000 Needles," The Sky Pirate said as he grabbed Vaan's monkey vest dragged him closer, emphasizing each of his next words with a hiss, "DO… NOT… STOP… USING IT…"

"Got it!" Vaan replied with a salute as the gambits were immediately rearranged and he began using his technick. He sent needle after needle at the enemy and the Mind Flayer screamed, realizing that Vaan was the one doing the most damage. He Inverted Vaan but was immediately healed by Penelo. The orphan sent 1000 Needles at the Mark. He was Inverted and Ashe healed him. More needles were sent. Inverted again; this time a newly revived Fran healed him. Balthier groaned as Vaan sent even more needles and was Inverted and promptly healed again. Dammit was the monster THIS stupid!?

"Bio!" Another spell was cast, and Balthier looked to Basch, "You have the Mana left for a Mist Quickening, don't you?"

Basch turned to the Sky Pirate and nodded, "You got it," and he began to charge up the mist within him. With a shout, he threw it at the enemy as Balthier borrowed a bit of the mist that was released and used it to send another strike. Vaan picked up on the chain and threw his own Quickening as Ashe continued the attack. After ten strikes, the Mind Flayer hissed, still floating above the ground. He reached out towards the princess, who glared at the Mark, and the tentacles drooped, finally dropping to the ground, dust raising from the ground. The Mind Flayer… was defeated…

"Yahoo!" Vaan cheered, actually leaping into the air with a shout, "Excellent!"

The Viera smirked a bit, her ears twitching with joy as she watched Vaan and Penelo dance together, "The Gods are truly smiling on us this day."

"The Garif are safe again…" Ashe said, smiling at the news, "The Mind Flayer cannot feed on their sadness any longer."

"Well that's all well and good, but aren't we forgetting the best part? We need a reward for all of this, after all!" Balthier proclaimed, folding his hands like a demented merchant, "Sky Pirates don't walk deep into mines for exercise, you know."

Basch practically glared at the Sky Pirate. It was as if he were using Ashe to help get rewards for himself. He sighed and turned to Ashe, "My Lady… are we ready?"

Ashe looked in deep thought, and suddenly snapped out of it, turning to Basch, "I… yes, I do believe we are."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Vaan asked, pointing dramatically as Penelo laughed aloud and the group prepared to leave the mines, "Let's GO!"

The End!

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I hope you guys enjoyed it! A reviewer said s/he wanted to see a story about the Gil Snapper. Unless there's a mark I MUST do because its too awesome for words (cough Madragora Group cough), then I will probably do that one next.

So yeah... Review or summin. I'm also planning on starting a small arc of short stories for each character one year before the game. They may have spoilers, they may not. So be on the lookout for them!